Cyprus (Greek: Κύπρος , transliterated: Kýpros , ; Turkish: Kıbrıs ), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία , Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía , ; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti ), is a Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of its most popular tourist destinations. A highly developed country, the Republic of Cyprus was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement until its accession to the European Union on May 1, 2004.
The island has known human activity since around the 10th millennium BC and contains the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Tombs of the Kings. It is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world, and is the site of the earliest known example of feline-human association. At a strategic location in the Middle East or West Asia, Cyprus has come under the occupation of various civilisations, including the Hittites, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, and Ottomans. It was placed under British administration in 1878 until it was granted independence in 1960, becoming a member of the Commonwealth the following year. In 1974, following 11 years of intercommunal violence and an attempted coup d'état by Greek Cypriot nationalists, Turkey invaded and occupied the northern portion of the island. The Turkish invasion led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north. This event and its resulting political situation are matters of ongoing dispute.
The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entire island of Cyprus and its surrounding waters except small portions that are allocated by treaty to the United Kingdom as sovereign military bases. The Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts, the area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus, comprising about 59% of the island's area and the Turkish-occupied area in the north, calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 37% of the island's area and recognised only by Turkey.
Etymology
The name Cyprus has a somewhat uncertain etymology. One suggestion is that it comes from the Greek word for the Mediterranean cypress tree ( Cupressus sempervirens ), κυπάρισσος ( kypárissos ), or even from the Greek name of the henna plant ( Lawsonia alba ), κύπρος ( kýpros ). Another school suggests that it stems from the Eteocypriot word for copper. Georges Dossin, for example, suggests that it has roots in the Sumerian word for copper ( zubar ) or for bronze ( kubar ), from the large deposits of copper ore found on the island. Through overseas trade the island has given its name to the Classical Latin word for copper through the phrase aes Cyprium , "metal of Cyprus", later shortened to Cuprum . Cyprus is also known as the Island of Aphrodite , Venus , or Love since according to Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, was born in Paphos.
History
Main article: History of CyprusHuman settlement started on Cyprus around 9,000 BC with the arrival of agriculturists who built round houses with floors of terazzo. Cities were first built during the Bronze Age. The island was part of the Hittite empire during the late Bronze Age until the arrival of two waves of Greek settlement. Mycenaeans arrived arorund 1100 BC, when the burials began to take the form of long dromio. In the 4th century BC, Cyprus was conquered by Alexander the Great and subsequently ruled by the Ptolemaic Egypt until 58 BC, when it was incorporated into the Roman Empire. Except for an interval of Arab rule (643-966), the island remained under Roman (and later Byzantine) rule until the 12th century. After an occupation by the Knights Templar and the rule of Isaac Komnenos, the island in 1192 came under the rule of the Lusignan family, who established the Kingdom of Cyprus. In February 1489 it was seized by the Republic of Venice, and then between September 1570 and August 1571 conquered by the Ottoman Empire, starting three centuries of Turkish rule over Cyprus.
Starting in the early-nineteenth century, Greeks of the island sought to bring about an end to almost 250 years of Ottoman rule and unite Cyprus with Greece. The call for that aim, called enosis , grew louder after Britain took administrative control of the island in 1878, to prevent Ottoman positions from falling under Russian control following the Congress of Berlin. Under the terms of the agreement reached between Britain and the Ottoman Empire, the island would remain an Ottoman territory. When the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers, Britain renounced the agreement and all Turkish claims over Cyprus and declared the island a British colony. In 1915, Britain offered Cyprus to Constantine I of Greece on condition that Greece join the war on the side of the British, which he declined. In 1925 Britain declared Cyprus to be a Crown Colony.
Ancient times
Main article: Ancient history of CyprusThe earliest confirmed site of human activity on Cyprus is Aetokremnos, situated on the south coast, indicating that hunter-gatherers were active on the island from around 10,000 BC, with settled village communities dating from 8200 BC. The arrival of the first humans correlates with the extinction of the dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants. Water wells discovered by archaeologists in western Cyprus are believed to be among the oldest in the world, dated at 9,000 to 10,500 years old. Remains of an 8-month-old cat were discovered buried with its human owner at a separate Neolithic site in Cyprus. The grave is estimated to be 9,500 years old, predating ancient Egyptian civilization and pushing back the earliest known feline-human association significantly. The remarkably well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to approximately 6800 BC.
The island was part of the Hittite empire during the late Bronze Age until the arrival of two waves of Greek settlement. The first wave consisted of Mycenaean Greek traders, which started visiting Cyprus around 1400 BC. A major wave of Greek settlement is believed to have taken place following the Bronze Age collapse of Mycenaean Greece in the period 1100-1050 BC, with the island's predominantly Greek character dating from this period. Cyprus occupies an important role in Greek mythology being the birthplace of Aphrodite and Adonis, and home to King Cinyras, Teucer and Pygmalion. Beginning in the 8th century BC Phoenician colonies were founded on the south coast of Cyprus, near present day Larnaca and Salamis.
Cyprus was ruled by Assyria for a century starting in 708 BC, before a brief spell under Egyptian rule and eventually Persian rule in 545 BC. Cypriots, led by Onesilos, king of Salamis, joined their fellow-Greeks in the Ionian cities during the unsuccessful Ionian Revolt in 499 BC against the Achaemenid Empire. The revolt was suppressed without bloodshed, although Cyprus managed to maintain a high degree of autonomy and remained oriented towards the Greek world. The island was brought under permanent Greek rule by Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies of Egypt following his death. Full Hellenisation took place during the Ptolemaic period, which ended when Cyprus was annexed by the Roman Republic in 58 BC.
Middle Ages
Main article: Cyprus in the Middle AgesWhen the Roman Empire was divided into Eastern and Western parts in 395, Cyprus became part of the East Roman, or Byzantine Empire, and would remain part of it until the crusades some 800 years later. Under Byzantine rule, the Greek orientation that had been prominent since antiquity developed the strong Hellenistic-Christian character that continues to be a hallmark of the Greek Cypriot community. Beginning in 649, Cyprus suffered from devastating raids launched from the Levant, which continued from the next 300 years. Many were quick piratical raids, but others were large-scale attacks in which many Cypriots were slaughtered and great wealth carried off or destroyed. No Byzantine churches survive from this period, thousands were killed, and many cities, such as Salamis, were destroyed and never rebuilt. Byzantine was restored in 965, when General Nikephoros Phokas (later Emperor) scored decisive victories on land and sea. In 1191, during the Third Crusade, Richard I of England captured the island from Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus He used it as a major supply base that was relatively safe from the Saracens. A year later Richard sold the island to the Templars, who, following a series of bloody revolts, in turn sold it to Guy of Lusignan. Cyprus would remain under Latin rule for the next 300 years.
Following the death in 1473 of Jame
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